When an affluent individual or family has very high potential for liability and lawsuits (such as a physician), domestic asset protection strategies might not be enough. It sometimes makes sense to use international offshore planning strategies. Offshore entities have the reputation of “hiding” assets or of being used to evade taxes. However, asset protection trusts have nothing to do with … Read More
The Role of Sales People in Your Business
The role of sales in any business is to develop prospects and close new business. It is the primary source of revenue, and though expense management also plays an important part, the sales function is the biggest contributor to the “bottom line” of profitability. The role of sales can be distinguished from the role of business development. Business development typically … Read More
The Top 10 Estate Planning Issues
A colleague of ours recently assembled a list of the top 10 estate planning issues. This list is a great tool to assure that key items are not overlooked. All of these issues deserve thoughtful consideration. They can also create major problems if not dealt with in advance. Probate – Court supervised administration of your estate is never a pleasant … Read More
Outgrowing the Sole Proprietorship
Jerry Sims started his small business from scratch, and has always run it as a sole proprietorship. Now that his revenues have become predictable, and he’s added employees, he knows he needs to operate more formally as a business entity. In fact, his accountant and attorney have been bugging him to make some changes. So how does Jerry choose between … Read More
Preserving the Land You Love Through Conservation Easement
A conservation easement is a written agreement between a landowner and a public agency or a qualified conservation organization like a land trust. The donor agrees to keep the land available for agriculture and restrict subdivision or non-farm development, and the public agency or land trust is responsible to monitor and ensure that the terms of the easement are met. … Read More
Does Account Ownership Really Matter
Mary and Paul had been married for over 50 years. Lately, Paul’s health had begun to fail and he needed Mary’s assistance more and more. Their adult children all lived in different parts of the country, and were unable to help out on a regular basis. Mary was happy to do it. She loved her husband, but she also felt … Read More
Your Great-Great-Grandchildren Will Know Your Name
If you ask most people, they can easily tell you the names of their grandparents, and in some cases, their great-grandparents. But it might surprise you how many people do NOT know the names of their great-great-grandparents or generations older than that. However, if your great-great-grandparents had left you millions of dollars in trust, it is much more likely that … Read More
The Problem with Entrepreneurs
According to the Small Business Administration, about 90% of all US businesses are family-owned or controlled. Yet, approximately 70% of these businesses will not pass successfully to the second generation, 85% won’t make it successfully to the third generation, and less than 5% are successfully passed to the fourth generation. Without proper planning the family may be forced to sell … Read More
Pros and Cons of Business Entities
Advantages and Disadvantages of Sole Proprietorships A sole proprietorship is a business owned by a single individual. There is no formal separation of the business assets and operations apart from the individual. The greatest advantage of the sole proprietorship is its ease of start-up. You, as proprietor, simply begin doing business. It is less expensive to establish a sole proprietorship … Read More
The Plight of the Disabled Entrepreneur
Most successful entrepreneurs have a large reserve of confidence that has been honed through successful ventures. And confidence is good as long as it isn’t confused with indestructibility. None of us as business owners can predict the future with any certainty. So what happens if we are faced with a situation like Tom’s? Tom Bellows was a Type A personality … Read More
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